Air pollution is a growing problem in most cities (big and small). The "Daily Dose" aims to disseminate the best available information on air pollution and engage in discussions to better understand the process of air quality management. For more details on the program, please visit http://www.urbanemissions.info

Wednesday, December 11, 2013

Shanghai - A City Lost in Smog (December, 2013)

Thick smog swallows the city’s tallest buildings. The visibility and air quality is so bad that the city has notched record pollutions levels.

Home to more than 20 million people, the city of Shanghai has been blanketed by a thick layer of smog for days. Reduced
visibility has resulted in hundreds of canceled flights, and health
worries have prompted schools to close. A change in weather patterns is
causing conditions to improve, but air in the city is still classified
as unhealthy for sensitive groups.

At its worst, the city's air quality index topped 500. The U.S. categorizes any reading over 300 as "hazardous." It
is notoriously difficult to get accurate pollution readings in China.
When severe smog hits Beijing, residents rely on the U.S. Embassy's own
readings published via social media.

China's leaders face growing pressure to clean
up the air as record pollution levels choke the nation. It's not just
the air -- anger has swelled in the world's most populous country over
contaminated food and water. Environmental standards were once
low on Beijing's priority list, and often overshadowed by efforts to
boost economic growth. Now there are signs the government is shifting
its focus as more and more Chinese insist on a healthier environment. An ambitious blueprint for economic and social reform unveiled last month, for example, included measures to tackle pollution.

China's central government announced a fresh round of environmental targets
in September. The new blueprint sets a nationwide goal to cut the
concentration of harmful particles in the air by at least 10% over the
next four years, compared to 2012 levels. The targets are even
more ambitious in heavily polluted regions. In northern China --
including Beijing, Tianjin and Hebei -- the goal is to cut the level of
particles by 25%, while in Shanghai and the Yangtze River Delta the
target is 20%.

A recent study found that severe pollution has
slashed an average of five and half years from life expectancy in
northern China. The researchers made this determination by comparing the health of northern Chinese to citizens living south of the Huai River. For
decades, free winter heating was provided to areas north of the river,
while no such luxury was extended in the south due to budgetary
restraints. The free heating was powered by coal boilers, which resulted
in significantly higher levels of pollution.

Until this wave of pollution hit, there was a perception that Shanghai was better equipped to handle dirty air than Beijing. The ramifications could be major -- and even effect the development of the Shanghai Free Trade Zone, an experimental commerce area that is seeking to attract foreign firms.